Failure to prosecute kidnappers leaves more aid workers at risk of abduction
Kidnapping aid workers has become big business as militants often collaborate with crime networks to abduct their victims, a senior UN official and former hostage said.
Vincent Cochetel, who was held captive in Chechnya in 1998, said for countries to stem the steep increase in attacks, which are undermining aid operations, they must bring kidnappers to justice.
“We need to absolutely get the perpetrators to court,” said Mr Cochetel, who works for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. It is usually possible to trace many of those involved, he said.
“These people can be tried anytime, anywhere and they can be extradited, so it’s important to make sure that when those individuals are known, everything is done to bring them to justice.”
Last year 130 aid workers were abducted, up from 45 in 2007, according to the Aid Worker Security Database. High-risk countries included Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.
Kidnapping has long been a problem in Afghanistan, either for ransom or to put pressure on western governments. Rebels in South Sudan carried out mass abductions of humanitarian convoys to control aid deliveries.
Most kidnap victims are local staff members, held on average for 12 days, database research from 2013 shows. International staff are usually held for longer because demands for money or concessions are often higher.
Mr Cochetel, who spent 317 days in captivity, said attacks were increasing as militants teamed up with criminal organisations to form hybrid groups that regard kidnappings as “part of their business model”.
Aid agencies and most governments do not pay ransoms, he said, but payments are sometimes made by third parties, such as businessmen with connections to the country where a hostage is being held.
Although kidnapping aid workers is a crime under international law, it is rarely punished, something that is fuelling the practice, Mr Cochetel said.
Even if hostage-takers cannot be held to account because they live in an area outside state control, governments should hit them with travel bans and freeze their assets, he said.
Mr Cochetel was working as head of the UNHCR office in the Russian republic of North Ossetia when he was ambushed by armed men outside his flat.
Blindfolded and stuffed into a car boot, he was driven to Chechnya where he was kept in darkness and handcuffed to a bed. The kidnapping was ordered by Chechen militants but outsourced to criminals, said Mr Cochetel, who is now the UNHCR special envoy for the Mediterranean.
Three “small fish” were jailed afterwards, but he knew of few other cases where hostage-takers faced justice.
Aid agencies have boosted security in recent years, but this eats into resources that could be spent on assistance. Armed escorts and fortified offices also create a distance between aid workers and the people they are trying to help.
This can fuel mistrust, and increase security risks for staff, said Mr Cochetel, who saw the problems first-hand in Chechnya.
“For some of the population it was not clear who we were. We spent so little time in the plac
es we were visiting because we were scared for our own security,” he said.
“It was [a case of] go visit, deliver assistance, go back to the base, sleep in the bunker. And after some time you develop ... submarine syndrome. You don’t understand the broader landscape around you.”
Mr Cochetel said the UNHCR spent about 2 per cent of its budget on security, but many smaller organisations could not afford to take the same measures – and even seemingly safe interactions could pose risks.
This year, aid workers were attending a cultural event with women leaders in south-east Niger when two female dancers blew themselves up.
Mr Cochetel also called for more help for hostages after their release, including medical, psychosocial and financial support.
He said many were abandoned by their former employers, particularly if their contract had ended during their captivity or they had to stop working because of trauma.
“I’m aware of many ... people who were dropped by their organisations. Some fell into depression, some even took their lives,” he said.